A man clothed
in the darkest clothing Kaidence had ever seen emerged from the collected
shadows and slowly surveyed the room. The blackness of his wardrobe
seemed oddly alive, flowing and clinging to him as if he were clothed in
the night.

To
say he was handsome would by far be to colorless a word. He was unearthly
beautiful, sinfully so. His skin was as pale as marble giving him an
otherworldly glow that made him look almost like an angel. His blonde
hair was cut short and looked to be gelled back in a slight spike, a
surprisingly modern look for a man said to be from medieval times. Kaidie
couldn't help but look at him, his entire appearance demanded attention.
Her gaze slid across the features of his face, it was lean with prominent
cheekbones and a temptingly full mouth that was twisted in a cruel smile.
He seemed to be an innocent fallen from heaven....until you looked into
his eyes. They were the darkest ocean blue she had ever seen, they
contrasted drastically with his fair hair and skin. She felt the air in
her lungs almost freeze into crystals, his eyes held evil, sparkling like
jagged pieces of glacier ice. His body was lean and cut, his mere
presence sparked desire and fear at the same time. His entire appearance
while generating lust was marred by an evil and cruel tint that glazed his
handsome visage.

"Oh Lucas! Are you here? Oh wait that's right, you could not be anywhere
else even if you wanted to be." His laughter was deep and rich but stabbed
like nails. How odd that he would have an English accent, she thought to
herself. He walked around the room casually glancing from one side to the
other.

"Oh Lucas must we play these games every night? They do get old. You
know I was hoping you would keep the lovely girl up here tonight, she
seemed so...delicious." He smiled and revealed two sharp canines that had
elongated. Kaidence felt her stomach drop into her feet.

"Oh my god Kaidie...he's-he's a vamp-" Kaidence slapped her hand over her
mouth and mouthed for her to be quiet. But it was to late, he had heard
her. His attention swung to the boxes they were hiding behind and he
gently sniffed the air smiling.

"Lucas, did you invite guests and not tell me?" he chuckled and moved
towards the two crouching girls.

"Damn...Brenna this way." Kaidence whispered and motioned for her to
follow her to another set of boxes. Kaidence quickly darted to the next
set and turned to see Brenna start moving toward her. Suddenly, like a
flash of lightning, a hand snatched her by the neck and drug Brenna
through the boxes.

"Oh my, what a wonderful present Lucas. Very thoughtful of you, you must
have thought that by giving me this I might leave you in peace, well at
least for tonight. Well, while I appreciate the present, and will make
good use of it, you will never be rid of me. However, we might be able to
come to some sort of...arrangement or something. I'm not totally against
negotiating." He squeezed Brenna's neck and Kaidence heard her gasp for
air. He leaned down close to her and licked her cheek. Brenna grimaced
and attempted to jerk free but to no avail.

"Mmm...you
will be delicious love, do not jump around like a little rabbit now or it
will hurt. I promise this will be a most exquisite death, you will wish
for it to last forever." His smile was as cruel as he was.

Kaidence
glanced around panicked she had to do something besides sit there and
watch some asshole from hell suck her friend dry. She snatched up a metal
clothes bar and with as much courage as she could muster she jumped up
from her hiding spot clutching her weapon of choice like a Louisville
Slugger.

"Drop her!" she yelled surprised at how confident she sounded. Maybe it
was from surprise, maybe it was from shock that some mere mortal like
herself dare risk her life for someone, whatever it was...it caused him to
drop Brenna like a ton of bricks, she hit the floor with thud and lay
gasping for air.

"And who are you fiery little one?" He asked with a smile. Kaidence felt
her skin crawl and ice chill her veins; he was terrifying her with just
his voice and smile. She felt her hands shaking and her knees buckling.
She was going to pass out and be drunk like a Pepsi on hot day, but just
as darkness clouded the edges of her vision, a warm glow spread heat
throughout her limbs. It filled her sight and body and for a moment she
was lost in this brilliant, flaming glow, that left her feeling strong and
far from fear.

"Kaidence,
and I suggest you leave...now." She quietly said. It was amazing; she
felt no fear at all even though she knew that the thing in front of her
could probably easily kill her.

He moved
towards her and Kaidence had to fight the urge to move away from him.

"Don't move any closer." She threatened.

"Kaidence...I
like that. You're a spirited young thing are you not? It has been so
long since I have had any real amusement."

Kaidence felt
her anger explode at his laughing at her. She gripped the metal bar and
swung with all her might at his body desperately hoping she would break
his entire left side. With a speed possessed by only the devil himself,
he caught the bar and jerked her hard against him. She slammed into him
and felt the air rush out of her lungs in a mighty gust. He threw the bar
across the room and his arms came around her like a steel vise and he
squeezed. Kaidence felt her rips being crushed and screamed in pain.
Through tear filled eyes she saw Brenna jump up and lunge wildly at the
man only to be swatted down, unconscious, to the floor with one sweep of
his arm.

"Brenna!"
She yelled only to feel the crushing strength of his arms squeeze her
again.

"You will by far be the sweeter of the two, I feel the strength in you,
burning through your blood." He whispered in her ear. He kissed her face
and nuzzled her neck.

"Oh god he's going to bite me and there is nothing I can do." She thought
fearfully. She struggled with what energy she had left, thrashing madly
but he never even slacked his grip and she was soon exhausted from her
efforts. Through her pain filled haze she heard Lucas's voice filling her
mind, pulling her away from the pain he was inflicting on her.

"Stay strong your almost there, just tell him no." He whispered before
disappearing again.

"Wait don't leave me! Say no to what?" she screamed mentally.

"And now sweet one..." she heard the sinister stranger whisper against the
madly beating pulse in her throat.

"N-n-no." she managed to breathe out. He stopped cold against her throat.

"What did you say?" His eyes froze her very soul, she felt as if she were
freezing to death in a blizzard.

"I
said no damn it." She choked out.

He laughed, he
laughed so hard he almost dropped her.

"No one says no to me love...no one. And those who do pay the price you
will now." He leaned down to her throat and Kaidence waited for the
piercing of her flesh by those sharp, dagger-like canines. But she didn't
feel it; all she felt was his rasping breath on her skin. He lifted his
head and looked at her in shock. He couldn't do it, he could not bite
her!

"What magic is this? Who are you?" He said and then threw her from him
as if she had been the one to bite him. Kaidence crashed to the floor and
felt her body scream in pain. She winced as she pulled herself up to a
sitting position, she felt like a Mac-truck had just plowed over top of
her. He stalked up to her and snatched her up by the arm.

"Answer me! Who are you really?" He nearly yelled in her face. Kaidence
wrenched her arm out of his grasp and stepped away from him in full rage.

"I
told you who I was you asshole! Now get out of here and leave Brenna,
Lucas, and me alone!" She yelled at him. She couldn't believe how angry
she was, she also knew that her anger was the only thing making her brave
at this point.

A sudden smile
twisted his strangely angelic face.

"Lucas? I see you have met my little friend. I take it he has told you
his tragic story then?" He sneered.

"Yeah he told us you creep." Kaidence looked and saw Brenna now up and
standing behind the still unknown man.

Kaidence ran
towards her shaken friend and they stood facing the stranger.

"He told us how he was tricked and betrayed, and how he died hurt and
alone blaming himself for something that was not his fault." Kaidence
said.

"Then surely you must know how I am, or has it not dawned on you quite
yet?" He walked towards the two girls and was slightly surprised how
neither backed away or moved. Maybe it was just because they didn't fully
comprehend what he could do to them he thought.

"I
know who you are. Only one sick and twisted person from Lucas's world
would get enjoyment from his pain, his anguish over losing everyone and
everything that ever meant anything to him. You're the prince of evil,
the man who caused all of this." Kaidence spat his name in disgust.

"Very good little one, let me formally introduce myself, my name is
Hadrian, ruler of all that is evil and now all that is good as well.
Since the fall of the king and queen all those decades ago, I have ruled
over all of Bluejade, now my world." He gave an extravagant bow sweeping
his black cloak before him. Brenna motioned Kaidence's attention to a
stack of metal bars next to them; the two nodded a silent agreement. With
his head down and his attention fixated on himself Kaidence and Brenna
seized the moment and both picked up metal bars and swung them at Hadrian
with all the strength they had. Brenna's blow slammed onto his back
knocking him to his knees while Kaidence swung and connected with his
chest knocking him to the floor. He lay motionless on the floor. The two
girls held their bars prepared to strike him again if he moved and slowly
walked to stand next to the motionless body.

"Is he dead?" Brenna asked.

"I
doubt it, if he can throw me across a room, and emerge from a whole other
dimension, I doubt our hits are going to kill him. But I do think he's
unconscious." Kaidence leaned over him and looked into his face. Brenna
moved on the other side of him and looked down.

"
I think your right. Damn that was close." She said and dropped her bar to
the floor. Kaidence let hers drop to the floor and felt her knees start
to shake.

"Lucas where are you?" Kaidence called again holding her ribs as they
spasm in pain every time she breathed.

"C'mon man, come out he--!" Brenna suddenly choked and Kaidence spun
around and saw her clawing at a hand around her throat. Hadrian smiled up
at her and continued choking Brenna.

"Brenna
no!! Let her go!" Kaidence yelled and made a grab for her bar, which lie
next to him on the floor. But he snatched her up by her hair before she
could get it.

"Ow!!!!
Let go of me you son of a-!" a sudden jerk on her head brought tears to
her eyes as he spun her around to face him.

"You wish to see your beloved Lucas, fine, then you shall join him, in his
world. And suffer the same fate if not worse then he did." He leaned so
close to her Kaidence could feel his breath on her face. Kaidence looked
over and saw Brenna was turning blue.

"Fine but let her go! You're killing her!!!" she nearly screamed. He
looked at Brenna and loosened his grip just enough for her to manage raspy
gulps of air.

"Your both coming with me, I think I may have just found myself some new
playthings to occupy my time with." He sneered into Kaidence face and she
found herself suddenly so furious that she spit into his face, thinking
the second she did how wrong of a move it was. As soon as she did it she
regretted the action for a dark cloud suddenly passed over his face and
his glacier eyes turned the blue of a raging blizzard.

"I
think I may tend to you personally...little one." He whispered leaning in
so close to her face that he could have kissed or killed her.

"Orion!" He turned to the wall and called. Kaidence and Brenna glanced to
the side and saw the shadows swirling once again like they were alive and
dancing. They converged again into a pool on the wall and once again a
person emerged.